A social media influencer from Algeria was detained by French authorities on Friday, accused of urging his followers to carry out attacks in France. The arrest took place in the city of Brest, located on the western coast of France, just ahead of the 10th anniversary of the deadly January 2015 attacks in Paris, which targeted the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket.

The Charlie Hebdo attacks, carried out by two French-born al-Qaida extremists on January 7, 2015, resulted in the deaths of 12 people, including the editor, cartoonists, and a policeman. The subsequent attacks by an associate of the extremists killed four hostages at a supermarket, before all three gunmen were killed in police shootouts.

The Algerian influencer, who had over 400,000 followers on TikTok, was arrested under suspicion of expressing support for terrorism. His social media account has been shut down following the allegations. The French authorities mentioned that the influencer had previously been instructed to leave France after his residency permit expired last year. Another man, also of Algerian origin, was detained alongside him, on similar terrorism-related charges. The influencer used the pseudonym and was said to have posted a video encouraging violence against those opposed to the Algerian government.